Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars Review – Games of Thrones

Konami has a menagerie of legendary IPs and franchises; after successfully revitalizing Silent Hill with the excellent Silent Hill 2 remake, and ahead of this year’s Metal Gear Solid Delta, they’ve gone ahead and released Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars, a collection of the first two titles in their legendary role playing game franchise. Unlike Silent Hill or even Metal Gear, however, Suikoden hasn’t received the remake treatment as much as it is receiving far more straightforward and conservative re-releases.

While disappointing, it’s easy to see why this may be a smart decision. Commercially, Suikoden wasn’t particularly successful even in its heyday, so a low risk release to gauge interest in the property makes sense. The two games in question are also widely celebrated as among the high watermarks for the role playing game genre, and many of their specific achievements, from their strong writing and world building to their unique mechanics, remain unmatched in several regards even today.

So a straightforward re-release does make sense, particularly since it does in fact have numerous small but smart updates, all of which have been made with an immense degree of respect for the source material. For instance, much like several modern re-releases of classic RPGs, these remastered games include speed up options for battles, a text log to check (or review) any of the copious amounts of dialog and exposition in the game. Difficulty options have been added, new sound effects have been added to the overworld, a gallery to look at in game movies, listen to music, see art, or even check out the various endings, has been added, graphics have been touched up.

“A straightforward re-release does make sense, particularly since it does in fact have numerous small but smart updates, all of which have been made with an immense degree of respect for the source material. “

All of this sounds like a fairly straightforward and relatively standard remaster release, then. In other words, the efficacy of Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars comes down to the quality of the two games included in the package, and how well they have held up 30 years on from release. The good thing here is that both games do hold up.

The first Suikoden game is the weaker entry of the pair, which does make sense. As mentioned, it’s a three decade old game now, and both the genre and the series have come a long way since 1995. Suikoden does have a lot of the hallmarks that made later entries in the series – and to be fair, even this first game at the time – so beloved. You are still fighting back an oppressive empire in a compelling tale, you are still traveling the world and recruiting over a hundred characters to your cause, you are still fighting in deep but blistering turn based battles, you still have a home base that builds and fleshes out over the course of the story as more and more join your cause, and you still have some remarkably well developed and fleshed out party characters and interactions.

The first game suffers mostly in terms of its writing not feeling quite as consequential and impactful as it does in the second game. Its status as a 1995 game is fairly evident in how, while tackling some fairly nuanced and hefty themes narratively, it deals with them in a more juvenile way than the subject matter or the series’ reputation might suggest. As previously mentioned, it’s still an interesting story that’s fun to follow along (and which ends up being surprisingly responsive to the players sometimes, particularly when it comes to recruiting characters) and has some surprisingly poignant beats. A lot of the initial levity the tone has also dissipates with time as the story progresses as well (though never entirely).

Other than the story, Suikoden’s largest failing is probably it missing a lot of the QoL improvements and upgrades that the sequel added, and which, for some reason, have not been back ported to the first game in this collection. The graphical remastering also seems a little poorer for the first game compared to the second one; some of this is down to the first game looking sparser graphically to begin with, which doesn’t seem to translate as well to the HD widescreen format. The geometry can seem simplistic, and a lot of the textures are uneven, seeming weirdly smooth and sanded out at times. It’s all very minor – the original game is a very pretty 32-bit style RPG, and the remaster maintains that. But the second game is the one that definitely looks better, both the remaster and the original.

“The second game is considered one of the best RPGs ever made. That reputation is well-earned: Suikoden II absolutely holds up.”

Of course, the second Suikoden game is widely considered to be better than the first one in pretty much every regard. In fact, the second game is considered one of the best RPGs ever made. That reputation is well-earned: Suikoden II absolutely holds up. The story and writing are instantly, significantly better – the plot is far more compelling, the characters are a lot more intriguing, and the systems are far more fleshed out, far better developed.

Suikoden II is, in other words, a far more confident game, and that confidence is instantly conveyed to the player. The game does a lot more with its central concept (including fleshing out a lot of its signature mechanics – the base building truly comes into its own with Suikoden II). The battles are a lot more challenging, the game builds and iterates on its themes and mechanics a lot more than the first title ever managed to do, and the game has basic QoL that does wonders – including letting you rearrange your party formation right as soon as a character joins or leaves the squad or telling you what gains individual stats had upon levelling up – again, small stuff, but definitely stuff that adds up and counts.

Suikoden II looks absolutely gorgeous too. The remastering looks a lot more even with this game than with the first (meaning the textures all seem consistent, rather than seeming unnecessarily smoothed out like they can in the first), and the overall aesthetic and style is a lot more cohesive.

Honestly, even a basic remaster of Suikoden II alone would be well worth the purchase even today – as previously mentioned, this is a game that has a legendary reputation, and even today, it very much lives up to that reputation. Konami are clearly distinctly aware of the love that it, and the first game, both enjoy, because their remastering efforts all seem reverent. Details have been lovingly brought over as is, and any changes have been made with the most delicate of touches, to not upset a masterpiece that has built up a fairly passionate fanbase in the years since it came out.

“Even the most diehard and zealous of purists will be pleased with this collection.”

Which means even the most diehard and zealous of purists will be pleased with this collection. Yes, it’s only remasters, not remakes. Yes, the changes, upgrades, and additions are minimal. Yes, the first game doesn’t hold up as well as the sequel does (though it is still a good RPG that fans of the genre should look into). And yes, a new game in the series would be so good.

But for all that this collection is not, here is what it still is – two very good (even great, in the case of the sequel) games that are classics of their genre, and have been remastered and brought to modern audiences with very little of the originals’ fine gameplay altered or updated. If you haven’t ever played Suikoden, this collection is the best way to experience those classic adventures for the first time. And if you are already a fan of the series, you will be pleased at how well these games hold up all these years later – and just how deft a hand Konami had when bringing them over to modern audiences.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.